1.5.13-Doeskin-pantaloons
Brick!Club 1.5.13: Chapter XIII. The Solution of Some Questions connected with the Municipal Police Before I begin - something which I forgot to say yesteday. Can someone who can art please draw for us: At that period a dandy was composed of a tall collar, a big cravat, a watch with trinkets, three vests of different colors, worn one on top of the other—the red and blue inside; of a short-waisted olive coat, with a codfish tail, a double row of silver buttons set close to each other and running up to the shoulder; and a pair of trousers of a lighter shade of olive, ornamented on the two seams with an indefinite, but always uneven, number of lines, varying from one to eleven—a limit which was never exceeded. Add to this, high shoes with little irons on the heels, a tall hat with a narrow brim, hair worn in a tuft, an enormous cane, and conversation set off by puns of Potier. Over all, spurs and a mustache. At that epoch mustaches indicated the bourgeois, and spurs the pedestrian. The provincial dandy wore the longest of spurs and the fiercest of mustaches. It was the period of the conflict of the republics of South America with the King of Spain, of Bolivar against Morillo. Narrow-brimmed hats were royalist, and were called morillos; liberals wore hats with wide brims, which were called bolivars. Eight or ten months, then, after that which is related in the preceding pages, towards the first of January, 1823, on a snowy evening, one of these dandies, one of these unemployed, a “right thinker,” for he wore a morillo, and was, moreover, warmly enveloped in one of those large cloaks which completed the fashionable costume in cold weather… I need a picture of this guy’s outfit. It sounds amazing. And on to today’s chapter: I’d forgotten how nuanced Javert’s characterisation was. I think the musical has really stuck me on “I am the law and the law is not mocked! My duty is to the law!” type things, and I’d forgotten that Javert wasn’t actually an absurd caricature. We have this: Nevertheless, he was seriously and deeply preoccupied. It was one of those moments when he was exercising without control, but subject to all the scruples of a severe conscience, his redoubtable discretionary power. At that moment he was conscious that his police agent’s stool was a tribunal. where although Javert does ultimately condemn Fantine (which I’m pretty we all agree he shouldn’t have) he first recognises the power he holds, and considers the effects of his actions. It’s not just a mindless ‘You broke the law!’ type thing. Secondly, I have some questions on prostitution in nineteenth century France. I’m assuming from the sheer number of prostitutes that it’s implied are around, and the fact that Javert doesn’t mention otherwise, that prostitution was legal. But on the other hand, Javert says that: A prostitute had made an attempt on the life of a citizen. which implies pretty strongly that Fantine is not a citizen. Is this just a reflection on how she’s viewed, because of how degraded she has become? Or was she legitmately legally not a citizen, perhaps because she was a women? I have another question, regarding this line: She would have softened a heart of granite; but a heart of wood cannot be softened. What does it mean? We all know, from the musical, that Javert’s heart is stone (and still it trembles), and I’m pretty familiar with the metaphor of a stone heart, but I always thought the metaphor of a wooden heart meant the same thing. And wood is already softer - and easier to soften - than granite, so what exactly is Hugo going for here? Finally, I’m loving the dialogue between Javert and Valjean. Hugo needs to write more dialogue. Everyone would be happier. Commentary Sarah1281 The way I’ve heard it explained and so the only explanation I have is that stone will melt if you get the temperature hot enough but wood will just burst into flames. It does seem pretty counter-intuitive that Fantine would have better luck with rock than wood. Pilferingapples (casually reblogs because Javert Thoughts) Hmm, I like the wooden heart metaphor. Stone can be softened by warmth/heat (which passion and affection are often metaphorically said to be) but wood, against heat, either endures or burns. Not sure that works for Javert overall, but I can see it in this scene. And yeah, Fantine’s not a citizen, not fully. She’s not even a guy! Much less a PROPERTY-OWNING guy! So there’s all sorts of rights (voting at the least) that she doesn’t have. This is less Javert making a judgement call and whoops, just the way things were. Particolored-socks (reply to Pilferingapples) In my translation the phrase is melting a heart of granite as opposed to melting a heart of wood — maybe it’s hairsplitting, because melting is approximately equal to softening, but I think it makes a little more sense that way. Maybe the metaphor extends to later on, when he is confronted with the passion and affection of love/forgiveness which is represented by grace — he cannot fathom it, so his heart of wood is turned to ash in the flame? Kingedmundsroyalmurder (reply to Pilferingapples) Ooh, an explanation of the heart metaphor that makes sense! Thank you so much! Serrende In the original Javert thinks of it as a prostitute (“fille publique”) assaulting a bourgeois - i.e. a fully respectable, if non-noble and non-priestly, member of society. (This being France in the Restoration, they didn’t so much have citizens as subjects, I think?) And a moneyed bourgeois at that, who had enough to his name that he had the right to vote! While a prostitute may have been barely legal, but that didn’t make her a real member of society in Javert’s eyes. (Javert believes in authority and the social order rather than equality under the law, I think. If it had been an urchin who’d verbally harassed and then pushed snow down the dress of a fine, respectable bourgeoise, he’d probably not have arrested her if she attacked the urchin in anger, though I think he’d try to intervene and calm her down. Treating everyone equally in a hierarchic society with big class distinctions would be an affront to social order, after all…) Doeskin-pantaloons (reply to Serrende) Thank you! That explains things nicely. =)